Tech reviews: 'Grid 2,' Rokform Rokdock, Auris freeDA

Jun. 7, 2013

RACE ON: ‘GRID 2’ FLASHES BACK ON CONSOLES AND PC

In 2008, Codemasters released “Race Driver: Grid,” a game that was well-received by critics, thanks to its fun racing experience combined with a “Flashback” feature that allowed players to correct their mistakes by rewinding races. Fast-forward to today and the developer takes the Grid franchise out of storage and back on the road with “Grid 2.” For its second iteration, Grid serves up a campaign mode once again while beefing up the meager online offerings of the original. Campaign has you working as a proverbial hired gun for sponsor Patrick Callahan, who wants you to beat and recruit other drivers for his new World Series Racing circuit. Online, meanwhile, functions as its own thing, complete with its own separate garage and cars plus some tuning. The gameplay itself is a bit of a mix of sim and arcade racing, though Grid 2 leans more toward the arcade side. This can be good or bad, depending on your preferences, though it takes enough from both styles to keep things interesting. Handling itself has a raw and visceral feel to it with nice heft and weight, which is great for folks who don’t like floaty driving mechanics in their racing games. Audio for the engines, tires and other car effects also is excellent overall. Issues include the lack of a cockpit view and not enough real-world racing circuits. Difficulty also can be brutal later on with the AI having no qualms about spinning you out. Still, solid handling combined with various race types make Grid 2 a fun racer overall. Cost: $50-60; PC, PS3, Xbox 360www.gridgame.com

ROKFORM ROKDOCK STAND A LOVE LETTER TO GUYS

Like an excellent executive assistant, I usually prefer my contraptions to be multitaskers. Then again, there are times when my manly man genes fog up my sense of reason. Take the Rokform RokDock, for example, for the iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy line of phones. Unlike my other charging docks, this gadget does not come with a speaker, clock, electric socket or USB outlet. Instead, the charging stand only does two things. One is to serve as a charging station for your smartphone. The other is to tug on the heartstrings of every hot-blooded man. This starts with a metal housing made from CNC-machined, aircraft-grade aluminum. That collective sigh you hear involves all my ex-girlfriends rolling their eyes. It also weighs a honkin’ 3 pounds for added stability and manly heft. To further stroke guys’ egos, the RokDock requires a little bit of assembly to come into fruition. Lastly, it looks like the transformed version of a robot straight out of Transformers. Of course, none of these cool features changes the fact that the RokDock essentially is a glorified charging cable that costs a whopping $99. Heck, it doesn’t even come with a wall plug for connecting to an outlet. Instead, it comes with a USB connector, so you’ll need to connect it to a computer or a wall adapter with USB sockets to use it. Then again, the thing is well-built and, more importantly, it looks cool. Yeah, I know. Cost: $99www.rokform.com

AURIS FREEDA WIRELESS BLUETOOTH RECEIVER

Since the advent of the iPod, speaker docks for Apple devices have flourished in the market. It’s certainly a great development for folks who are fully invested in the Apple ecosystem, but what about folks whose tastes lean more toward having a diverse gadget set? This is where the Auris freeDA comes in. A compact wireless receiver with Bluetooth 4.0 capability, the freeDA can physically connect to an iOS-compatible dock and serve as a middleman, allowing your nonApple device to communicate with said dock. The freeDA does this a couple of ways. One is by directly connecting to a dock’s 30-pin connector. Another is by connecting via a line in connection with its included audio jack. In addition to streaming music, the Auris freeDA also comes with a few other neat options. You can use it to take calls from synced phones with the device itself. Another is the option to bring up Siri or the voice feature in a Galaxy S3 through the gadget. Battery life for the device is more than 10 hours, and charging time is about three hours. The Auris freeDA, however, has its share of drawbacks. One is the need to jack up the volume to get a decent audio level. A bigger issue, however, is the strength of its wireless connection, which is prone to disruption from walls as well as static interference from simply touching your phone. It’s a gadget with a great concept but its not-so-perfect execution knocks it down a few notches. Cost: $50http://theauris.com

— Jason Hidalgo, RGJ

More

ADVERTISEMENT

RACE ON: ‘GRID 2’ FLASHES BACK ON CONSOLES AND PC

RACE ON: 'GRID 2' FLASHES BACK ON CONSOLES AND PC

In 2008, Codemasters released “Race Driver: Grid,” a game that was well-received by critics, thanks to its fun racing experience combined with a “Flashback” feature that allowed players to correct their mistakes by rewinding races. Fast-forward to today and the developer takes the Grid franchise out of storage and back on the road with “Grid 2.”

For its second iteration, Grid serves up a campaign mode once again while beefing up the meager online offerings of the original. Campaign has you working as a proverbial hired gun for sponsor Patrick Callahan, who wants you to beat and recruit other drivers for his new World Series Racing circuit. Online, meanwhile, functions as its own thing, complete with its own separate garage and cars plus some tuning. The gameplay itself is a bit of a mix of sim and arcade racing, though Grid 2 leans more toward the arcade side. This can be good or bad, depending on your preferences, though it takes enough from both styles to keep things interesting. Handling itself has a raw and visceral feel to it with nice heft and weight, which is great for folks who don’t like floaty driving mechanics in their racing games. Audio for the engines, tires and other car effects also is excellent overall.

Issues include the lack of a cockpit view and not enough real-world racing circuits. Difficulty also can be brutal later on with the AI having no qualms about spinning you out. Still, solid handling combined with various race types make Grid 2 a fun racer overall.

Like an excellent executive assistant, I usually prefer my contraptions to be multitaskers. Then again, there are times when my manly man genes fog up my sense of reason.

Take the Rokform RokDock, for example, for the iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy line of phones. Unlike my other charging docks, this gadget does not come with a speaker, clock, electric socket or USB outlet. Instead, the charging stand only does two things. One is to serve as a charging station for your smartphone. The other is to tug on the heartstrings of every hot-blooded man. This starts with a metal housing made from CNC-machined, aircraft-grade aluminum. That collective sigh you hear involves all my ex-girlfriends rolling their eyes. It also weighs a honkin’ three pounds for added stability and manly heft. To further stroke guys’ egos, the RokDock requires a little bit of assembly to come into fruition. Lastly, it looks like the transformed version of a robot straight out of Transformers.

(Page 2 of 2)

Of course, none of these cool features change the fact that the RokDock is essentially a glorified charging cable that costs a whopping $99. Heck, it doesn’t even come with a wall plug for connecting to an outlet. Instead, it comes with a USB connector, so you’ll need to connect it either to a computer or a wall adapter with USB sockets in order to use it. Then again, the thing is admittedly well-built and, more importantly, looks cool. For some guys, that’s certainly reason enough to get it. Yeah, I know.

Since the advent of the iPod, speaker docks for Apple devices have flourished in the market. It’s certainly a great development for folks who are fully invested in the Apple ecosystem, but what about folks whose tastes lean more toward having a diverse gadget set? This is where the Auris freeDA comes in.

A compact wireless receiver with Bluetooth 4.0 capability, the freeDA can physically connect to an iOS-compatible dock and serve as a middleman, allowing your nonApple device to communicate with said dock. The freeDA does this a couple of ways. One is by directly connecting to a dock’s 30-pin connector. Another is by connecting via a line in connection with its included audio jack. In addition to streaming music, the Auris freeDA also comes with a few other neat options. You can use it to take calls from synced phones with the device itself. Another is the option to bring up Siri or the voice feature in a Galaxy S3 through the gadget. Battery life for the device is more than 10 hours, and charging time is about three hours.

The Auris freeDA, however, has its share of drawbacks. One is the need to jack up the volume to get a decent audio level. A bigger issue, however, is the strength of its wireless connection, which is prone to disruption from walls as well as static interference from simply touching your phone. It’s a gadget with a great concept but its not-so-perfect execution knocks it down a few notches.